The Khiladi maintains that he would like to work in regional films in the near future. But will he have the time?

Akshay Kumar is enjoying the success of his recently released drama Special 26. The Neeraj Pandey production has received rave reviews from the critics and won appreciation from audiences. Commercially too Akki has been doing consistently well. His last four films – Housefull 2, Rowdy Rathore,OMG! Oh My God – and now Special 26 have done good business at the box office (with Khiladi 786 being the exception). But now the superstar wants to experiment more with his roles in the days to come.

The 45-year-old action hero has covered various genres like action, comedy and thriller in his career spanning over two decades. This year Akki will also present a Punjabi and a Marathi film under his banner Hari Om Productions. If that’s not enough, he has now expressed his desire to act in regional films, saying that “Regional films are doing well and I am producing a Marathi and a Punjabi film as well. If I get a good subject, then I will work in it as well,” promised Akshay in an interview.

The star also wants to explore a wider canvas as far as his roles in Bollywood potboilers are concerned. In fact, he wants to portray a character with grey shades, like the one he played in Rajkumar Santoshi’s 2004 film Khakee. “I will keep on doing scripts that I like. When I did Khakee, it was earlier given to Paresh Rawal. When Rajkumar Santoshi approached me, I really liked the role. I really liked the character. So if I like the role, I would like to do it. I admire villain roles. I would love to play a villain,” elaborated the star.

We at BollywoodLife would like to see Akshay doing something more than mindless action comedy flicks. C’mon, man, surprise us with your versatility!

Unlike the Lonely song from the same film, Saari saari raat is melodious and extremely hummable

It is an indisputable fact that Himesh Reshammiya has a huge fan following and with this new romantic number called Saari saari raat from Khiladi 786 – starring Akshay Kumar and Asin in the lead – the popular singer-composer is all set to make it to the chartbuster list once more. Though there’s very little that is new or surprising in terms of its composition or lyrics, the song has the unmistakable signature Reshammiya touch.

Featuring Akshay Kumar and Asin, who are seen romancing in a picturesque grassland, Saari saari… is visually soothing and highly romantic. Himesh’s nasal tone and the fine composition makes this song hummable. Going by the trailer of the film, it is amply clear that Khiladi 786 is an action comedy with Akki at the helm of the entertaining affair.

We know that Akshay is a crowd puller. He tasted incredible success with Prabhu Deva’s Rowdy Rathore last year and his last release OMG! Oh My God did very well at the box office. And now we hope that the macho actor gives us something new in terms of his comic timing and action in this Ashish R Mohan production.

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]]>ArticleShahrukh Khan: I make films for my audience, never for the Rs 100-crore clubhttp://www.bollywoodlife.com/news-gossip/shahrukh-khan-i-make-films-for-my-audience-never-for-the-rs-100-crore-club/
Mon, 18 Jun 2012 10:20:02 +0000BollywoodLifehttp://www.bollywoodlife.com/?p=115055

King Khan reacts after Akshay Kumar’s Rowdy Rathore earns Rs 100 crore at the box office. Is SRK trying to be modest or is he just envious?

Rowdy Rathore’s success has raised many eyebrows.While critics had predicted that Akshay Kumar’s masala entertainer might not be accepted too easily, the film’s box office fate has surprised many in B-town. Apparently, an article featured Akki’s rare feat of making Rs 100 crore in his Rowdy avatar, but did not have Shahrukh Khan’s name on it despite the fact that two of SRK’s films, RA.One and Don 2 had also crossed the Rs 100-crore mark.

“When a newspaper recently wrote about how an actor (an obvious reference to Akshay Kumar) made it to the Rs 100 crore club, someone called me and said, ‘See, you haven’t been included in it!’ But I didn’t see (the article) in that light. I make films for my audience, never for such things,” said Shahrukh in an interview to a daily.

Though we are not fond of mind-numbingly idiotic films (Housefull 2 and Rowdy Rathore ), we think SRK’s super-hero or super-baddie endeavors (RA.One and Don 2 respectively) didn’t stimulate the grey cells in our heads either. Be it Rs 100 crore or not, it’s high time that both Akki and SRK give us meaningful films rather than quarreling about the need to join any kind of club.

After setting the box office on fire with Rowdy Rathore the Sinha gal will be seen shaking a leg in Akshay Kumar’s forthcoming comedy venture Oh My God. Akshay believes that Sona is the lucky charm for his films

When Sonakshi Sinha swung her hips with Akshay Kumar to the tune of Dhadang dhadang the audience went berserk and they simply lapped up the deadly duo of Rowdy Rathore. And now we hear that so happy is Akki with Sonakshi’s ‘generous’ screen presence that he wants to cast her in his upcoming comedy flick Oh My God. In fact, Akshay believes that Sonakshi is his lucky charm who can turn his next film into a runaway box office success. Sona will also pair up with Akki in Shirish Kunder’s forthcoming Sci-Fi comedy film Joker. But we think it’s too early for Akshay to jump the gun and call Sonakshi his lucky lady.

We hear that Sonakshi has been signed on to make a few sizzling moves to the tune of a fast-paced number in Oh My God, co-produced by Akshay along with Ashwini Yardi under their banner Grazing Goat Productions.The film is based on Paresh Rawal’s Gujarati play Kanji Virudh Kanji. It was later translated into Hindi as Krishna Vs Kanhaiya. And now, Akshay Kumar will portray the same story on celluloid and he will be seen playing Lord Krishna.

Interestingly, Oh My God has very little scope for a leading lady, and the small part is being essayed by the Kannada film actor Nidhi Subbaiah. But Akshay is so impressed with Sonakshi’s popularity that he wants to encash her stardom immediately. A little birdie tells us that Akshay recommended Sonakshi’s name for a song, which has been composed by Himesh Reshamiya. The macho actor also wants to rope in Prabhu Deva in this project.

Now we fear that the famous trio of Rowdy Rathore may convert a refreshingly different script of Oh My God into another mindless masala entertainer!

The Rowdy Rathore gal turned 25 recently and celebrated the special day with her co-stars

Sonakshi Sinha is in the mood to party! The stupendous success of her recent release Rowdy Rathorehas brought Sona back into the spotlight big time. And if that’s not enough, the charming actor had one more reason to celebrate. Sona turned 25 on June 2, and we hear that the Dabangg actor was busy cutting birthday cakes throughout the day!

Her first cake came from Ajay Devgn, with whom she will be seen in Ashwini Dhir’s film Son of Sardar. Later in the day, Akshay Kumar got a special cake for his Rowdy Rathore co-actor. We also hear that Sonakshi loved Akki’s cake and she even said that it was the yummiest cake she had eaten.

After a couple of cake cuttings with her filmi friends, Sonakshi got one more cake at home in the evening for her father Shatrughan Sinha, mommy Poonam Sinha and also for her brothers Luv and Kush. Akshay Kumar turned up at Sonakshi’s house with Twinkle Khanna and Prabhu Deva.

Sonakshi, we are sure, had a blast on her birthday. But now that she has consumed so many calories, it is time to hit the gym for the plump actor. Right, Sona?

Akshay Kumar sets the box office on fire with his rowdy avatar. If early estimates are to be believed, RowdyRathore has a great chance of beating the BO figures of Hrithik Roshan’s Agneepath

Akshay Kumar is on cloud nine these days! After tasting success with Housefull 2, Akki was quite confident about Rowdy Rathore’s fate at the box office. Going by the numbers, one can’t deny the fact that the Khiladi Kumar has delivered a blockbuster yet again. Not only has Rowdy Rathore managed to get the best opening of 2012 at the box office, it is surely on its way to beat Hrithik Roshan’s Agneepath, when it comes to the total weekend collections.

Directed by Prabhu Deva and co-produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Ronnie Screwvala, the masala entertainer marks Akshay’s return to a full-fledged action role after seven years. Rowdy Rathore netted Rs 29.8 crore in the first two days. Released in 2,800 screens across the country, the film bagged Rs 15.10 crore on the opening day alone. Agneepath had enjoyed a record opening of Rs 21.25 crore, and made over Rs 30 crores in the first two days (Friday and Saturday).

Early estimates say that Akshay’s masala movie has made a whopping Rs 46.80 crore. Going by these figures, Rowdy seems to have already surpassed Hrithik’s movie, which had made close to Rs 45 crore. We’ll have to wait to find out if the film has enough power to beat the overall collections of Agneepath!

Entertainment is what this Akshay Kumar-Sonakshi Sinha starrer is all about – a very massy, masala, dhinchaak khichdi of songs, dance and fight sequences

While thinking about Rowdy Rathore, we remember what Vidya Balan famously said as Silk in The Dirty Picture – it’s all about entertainment, entertainment, entertainment. There is colour and sound, and singing and dancing, and lots of maar-dhaad dhishum dhishum stuff going on in Rowdy Rathore, all of which you would logically expect in a Salman Khan film. In fact, halfway through this one, even as Akshay Kumar contorts his face and revs up to punch the baddie, you are suddenly transported to last year, and that feeling flashes across your brain that you could be watching Wanted or Ready or Dabangg. But hang on, this is not a Salman Khan-starrer. It is the comeback to action clarion call from Akshay – the man who has been doing mindless comedy and the occasional quiet drama for a few years now. So just what is going on? Yeh kya ho raha hai?

Welcome to the wild world of Rowdy Rathore. Akshay plays a double role, one side of him being the petty thief Shiva, who aims straight for the seeti-bajaaoing front benchers, while the other side – the law-enforcer Vikram Rathod – directs his attention to the more serious viewers who look for acting rather than action. Akshay revels and excels in both, even though we cannot help but think that perhaps he is getting a little old for all the romancing and bashing up goons sequences. Nonetheless, we are riveted as he wields his fists, his weapons and his wit with equal elan.

Keeping the song and dance thing going in the first half is Sonakshi Sinha, who fits the rustic part with her generous curves and her hip-swinging movements. She wisely sticks to her image as a village belle, her eyes as gorgeous as they were in Dabangg, and the whole ghagra-choli gaon-ki-chhori act is spot-on. Ace-bad guy Nasser is superbly nasty, while the other characters play their parts with finesse, though you sometimes wonder why they are there at all.

The star of this particular show is the director, Prabhu Deva, whose skill as a choreographer is in full evidence in Rowdy Rathore’s songs. Even as Pritam pyaare repels with its blatantly sexist dance moves and double entendres, Chinta ta ta has people jigging in the aisles. There is far less potty humour, if any, and mercifully little that could be called ‘vulgar’, which makes this one a fun watch without parents having to cover their kid’s eyes and ears. The violence, yes, is gratuitous in parts, but the pace of the film overrides any lack of real plot, and the flying blood and gore that could be disturbing if any time was spent lingering on those scenes.

The Ek Tha Tiger actor will make his presence felt at the IIFA 2012 to be held in Singapore next month

Contrary to reports that none of the big Khans of Bollywood are going to attend the IIFA this year, a little birdie tell us that Salman Khan will add a dash of glamour and zing by turning up at the awards ceremony. The Dabangg actor will be returning to IIFA after two years. The organisers of the IIFA 2012 have confirmed Sallu bhai’s presence, but it is not clear yet if he will be performing in Singapore.

The IIFA 2012 will be held in from June 7-9 in Lion City, Singapore. The event will be hosted by Farhan Akhtar and Shahid Kapoor at the city’s Indoor Stadium, and Rowdy Rathore director Prabhu Deva will be the chief choreographer.

We hope Prabhu Deva, who directed Salman Khan in Wanted, will convince Sallu to shake a leg at the event. After all, who doesn’t want to see bhai setting the stage on fire with his quirky dance moves!

Given the dangerous stunts the Khiladi Kumar had to pull off in Rowdy Rathore, the director of the film Prabhu Deva decided to insure Akshay Kumar’s life for a hefty sum

The astronomical sum of Rs 50 crore is the indication to judge the kind of stunts the audience is going to witness from Akshay Kumar in his upcoming action-packed film Rowdy Rathore. Directed by the ace dancer-turned-filmmaker, Prabhu Deva, the film promises to dish out some high-octane action sequences. It’s a known fact that Akshay is the ultimate action hero of Bollywood and he is always ready to dabble in this genre. But Rowdy Rathore required the 44-year-old to offer something different in terms of action.

We hear that when Prabhu Deva narrated the script to Akshay, he was absolutely kicked about doing the film. Akki also decided to pull off all his stunts personally, but the director as well as the entire unit of Rowdy Rathore were a bit worried given those scenes were a bit dangerous. The director therefore decided to insure his leading hero’s life for whopping Rs 50 crore. We also hear that no mishap happened while shooting the film and Akki pulled off all his stunts with absolute ease. Hearing this news we can’t wait to catch Rowdy Rathore on the big screen with Akshay doing what he does best, some kick-ass stunts. What about you?

The Khiladi Kumar’s next film has the same ingredients – lots of dhishoom dhishoom, dialoguebaazi and a little bit of mohabbat, just like Dabangg dude’s recent blockbusters

If you look at the trailer of Akshay Kumar’s Rowdy Rathore, which was launched at a public dais with the aam janta (public), it reminds us all of Salman Khan’s recent hits, Wanted, Ready, Dabangg and Ajay Devgn’s Singham. However, the Khiladi superstar doesn’t think so and he doesn’t feel he is competing with the current undisputed badshaah of the box-office. At the trailer launch event, Akshay said, “I don’t compare myself with anyone. He (Salman) is my friend. He does his work and I do my work.” Sonakshi Sinha, Akshay’s co-star in Rowdy Rathore too chose to be careful with her words and make sure she didn’t upset any of her senior co-stars. She said, “Salman is Dabangg and Akshay is the Khiladi and now Rowdy; they both are doing very well in their respective places.”

Although, Rowdy Rathore is Akshay Kumar’s attempt at the larger than life, action packed flicks, we think it will always be compared to Salman’s movies since the trend began with his movies. Take a look at the first trailer and let us what you think.